The Realisation
by CeliaLauna
Summary: It was two weeks after all of Chad's friends had thought he was a homophobic douchebag. Luckily after that incident, everything went back to normal. Chad's friendship with Ryan was stronger than ever. Except Chad wasn't sure if it really was just friendship... - Chyan endgame, part two of the Let's Call It Family 'verse.
1. Back To Normal

**Author's Note:** This is a continuation from "The Revelation". I don't own any of the characters or the universe, and I don't own the idea. I just wrote some words. I don't even own what could be seen as OCs, I took the Moms and twins from The Fosters.

Most of this story is already written, I just need to edit and alter some stuff. I am going to try my best to update once a week.  
I hope you like it!

* * *

 **Chapter one: Back To Normal**

It was two weeks after all of Chad's friends had thought he was a homophobic douchebag. Luckily after that incident, everything went back to normal.

His Moms, Lena and Stef, had laughed their asses off when he'd told them the story. Jaime had just smacked Troy's head with the back of her hand. After that they all told Troy to not keep shit like that from their friends anymore, but that was the end of it.

And now, at school, everything seemed to go smoothly. Gabriella let Ryan talk her into auditioning for the play. Sharpay didn't seem to hate Chad as vocally as before and spend proper time with Zeke, which made Zeke all the more excited to bake even more treats for everyone out of cheer happiness. Kelsi still refused to tell who the guy was she liked. And Taylor had properly apologized to Chad. So, all was well.

Everything had been great for the past two weeks. So Chad should have known that something was going to end all of that.

Ms. Darbus had given them all assignments that was going to take over his entire weekend, and Chad was seriously bummed out by it. Okay, fair enough, Chad should've started reading the two books she'd assigned them way earlier, but still, this was too much, and giving such a workload for over the weekend was just unfair.

It didn't help that Darbus had given everyone partners. The upside on that is that Chad was partnered up with Ryan.

"So," Chad said after class had ended. "When do you wanna meet up to fix this project?"

"Tonight?" Ryan replied as they walked down the hallway together towards Ryan's locker.

"I can't, euuuhm…"

Ryan smirked. "You still need to finish the books."

"Start, actually," Chad admitted. "But I'm a fast reader. Tomorrow morning? I'll have them finished by then."

Ryan seemed to think that over. "Afternoon okay? Sharpay and I have spa appointments and since she spends so much time with Zeke lately, I don't wanna miss that."

One good thing that had come out of that entire Chad-might-be-a-homophobe drama, was that Ryan was no longer scared to admit anything that could be remotely stereotypical to Chad. Two weeks ago, he just would've said he had plans.

Chad liked it much better this way.

"Only if that means that Princess will be relaxed enough to not yell at me, sure." Chad laughed at Ryan elbowing him in the side. "Okay okay, no jokes about Sharpay, got it. At your place?"

"Not if you want Sharpay not to yell at you," Ryan teased him. "I'll come to yours, just text me the address?"

"Will do! See you tomorrow!"

* * *

Friday evenings were days Chad and Troy hung out together. Well, if it wasn't date night for Troy and Gabriella, at least. When they were kids, they would've spend every Friday night together at each other's places, playing make belief or gaming or playing ball, or sometimes even just talking. As they've grown older, some things had changed, and some Friday evenings were spent on dates. But if neither of them had any other plans, they'd spent them together.

That Friday night, after a vicious game of one-on-one basketball, they climbed up to the treehouse.

"So," Troy asked them. "What's been on your mind?"

A downside of knowing each other for so long is that they know each other's minds too well. Damnit.

"Nothing," Chad tried, but he could see Troy didn't believe him. "Ugh, all right. It's just that, after all that shit two weeks ago. I don't know." Chad stared at the ceiling of the treehouse for a bit, laying on his back. "Do I really give that vibe?"

"No," Troy said immediately. "Taylor and Gabi were afraid, and it all was because of your theatre hatred. Hell, Ryan called bull on it before I could, but they talked some fear into him and, well… But really dude. You and Ryan seem closer than ever. Even more so than…" Troy trailed off.

"Than this summer when you abandoned me and all your friends in order to get into a college where you know you've had a scholarship waiting for you for the past two years _anyways_? Yeah. I know." Chad ignored the way Troy elbowed him and tried to steal the basketball out of his hands. Chad just put it down his side instead of keeping it in the air, arms stretched out in front of him. "It's just. I don't know. I don't like that they even thought it could be possible, you know?"

"I know," Troy replied. "But, dude, even your Moms told you to stop worrying."

"I know," Chad replied.

He was too worried about what people thought of him. He knew that. But still, it sucked.

"Troy!" Mrs. Bolton's voice ran through the garden. "Dinner's ready! Is Chad staying over?"

Troy looked at his best friend, who shook his head. "No thanks, Mrs. Bolton, I'll just be heading home."

They both climbed down the ladder and they gave each other a quick hug before Chad started walking the three blocks home.

* * *

Chad could hear the loud voices even before he turned the key in the front door. He toed of his shoes, ignored Stef's and Jaime's voices, and as he walked in, he went straight to the kitchen, where Lena was cooking dinner. "Hey Mom," he said as he started setting the table. "What's up with Jaime?"

"She can't decide on an outfit for her big date tonight," Lena replied. "The dress she wanted to wear was still in the laundry basket, even though I told her last week to take it to the dry cleaners instead. And the other outfit doesn't work with any shoes."

"That explains Stef's yelling. Did she try to steal the Chanel heels again?"

"What else could it have been?"

Chad rolled his eyes. Jaime was never gonna learn.

"Mooooom," Jaime's whiny voice carried from upstairs. "You can't do this to me." Two pairs of footsteps were coming down the stairs. "I look like I just walked out of an industrial terrain! I need _heels_."

"Well, sweetie, you can take your own heels," Stef replied as they walked into the kitchen. "Hey Chad." She gave him a kiss on the check before heading to the fridge and take out some vegetables to start on the salad. "Just stay away of my Chanel pumps. Don't you have that pair of ankle boots?"

"Those are black, Mom! And I'm using the brown purse!"

"So?" Stef asked, knowing full well the response would be –

"You cannot wear black shoes with a brown purse, Mom! Ugh. I will just change. Yet. Again!"

Lena rolled her eyes while Stef turned to Chad. "Will you please go help your sister out?"

"Sure," Chad replied, and he followed Jaime up the stairs. He stood in the doorframe watching the blond tear through her dresses. "Hey, J, what's up."

Jaime barely dignified that with a response. "Shut up and help me. I need a dress that works with the black boots Mom mentioned, but I can't need a big purse." She turned to her brother in all seriousness. "Why don't they give women's clothing pockets? It's unfair. Hell, it's discrimination."

Chad rolled his eyes as he walked into the room. "Stop exaggerating Jaime. Here," he pulled out one of his stepsister's favourite dresses, a dark blue dress that had a tight fit without looking too slutty, otherwise Stef would never let her leave the house. "Try this on. I'll be back."

By the time Chad got back from his room, Jaime had the dress on. "Perfect," he said, "And now this." He draped his favourite leather jacket around her shoulders. It was a perfect fit for him, meaning it was a bit too wide for his sister. "The black will work with the boots and you won't need a purse because there are pockets."

Jaime looked at herself in the mirror, thinking. Then she ran downstairs without another word. Chad followed at an easier tempo, used to his sister's chaotic behaviour. By the time he was down, she had her boots on and was examining herself in the mirror downstairs in the hallway. "What do you think?"

Stefanie replied. "You look great, honey." At which Jaime rolled her eyes.

"You barely looked up and you have shit taste!" The ' _language_ ' Stefanie yelled went ignored. "Lena! What do you think?"

Chad's Mom looked up and thought for a second. "It works. Just make sure Chad gets his jacket back, last time you borrowed it, he looked for it for two weeks and he threw a fit."

"Hey!" both siblings whined, even though they both knew it was true.

"Either way," Jaime sang. "I need to redo my make up now. Be back in a bit!"

Chad rolled his eyes as he sat down on one of the kitchen chairs.

"She's worse with her accessories than Ryan is with hats," he complained. "And have you seen his hat collection? It's insane."

"I'll take your word for it," Stef replied as she took some onions and placed them in front of Chad, who sighed. He got up to grab a knife and a cutting board anyways.

"Hey, Ryan's coming over tomorrow for a school project," he said as he tried to keep his eyes from tearing up. "That's cool, right?"

"Sure," Lena replied as Stef nodded. "What time exactly?"

"We said two-ish," Chad replied. "I figured the twins would be at soccer practice and the house would be quiet enough to work."

"Just don't destroy the house," Stef warned.

Chad rolled his eyes, and immediately regretted it, the sting of the onion getting worse. "I will be good," he promised.

Not much later Jaime came storming down the stairs again, asking Lena – "Because you, Mom, don't have any taste whatsoever." – what she thought of it. Chad silently sided with Stef about how he couldn't see a damn difference, but he was smart enough to not say that out loud until Jaime left the house.

"See you tomorrow!" she said as she grabbed the keys of the car that she and Chad shared.

"We'll see you at midnight," Stef replied sternly.

Jaime sighed for dramatic effect but replied "Sure," and waved them out as she left the house for her big date.

"So," Stef asked as soon as the door was closed. "Do you know anything about this guy?"

Chad smirked. "Damn, you really don't trust your daughter, do you?"

Lena piped up immediately. "It's because she knows stupidity runs in the family, especially when it comes to men."

"Hey!" Stef protested.

The banter between Chad and his Moms continued for a bit until dinner was ready. While Lena and Stef were setting the table, Chad tried to drag the two nine-year-olds away from the videogame they were playing. After he'd convinced the twins to pause the game, he lifted Mariana in his neck while Jesus raced to the kitchen.

Chad smiled as he sat down at the table, taking in his crazy family. He enjoyed dinner while Jesus and Mariana chattered on about something that happened in class today. After dinner, he helped the twins set up camp in the office – after safely putting away Lena's papers in a drawer of the desk – before he retreated to his own room, desperate to finish Ms. Darbus' literature before he had to work on the assignments with Ryan the next day.

* * *

It was a bit past two in the afternoon when Ryan rang the doorbell. Chad opened the door and greeted Ryan with a full body hug. 'Hey!"

"Hey Chad… You okay?"

Chad let go and led the way to the kitchen table. "Yeah, sure, just glad you arrived. Jaime was driving me crazy and I needed an excuse to ban her. Is it cool if we work in the kitchen, by the way? It's the biggest, uncluttered space we have here."

"Sure, no problem," the blond replied. Chad was again so relieved that Ryan wasn't stuck up about money and those things. Or at least not as much and as vocally as Sharpay.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but my room is kind of a mess and there's not enough desk room anyways, and the twins took over the office last night and camped out. So it still looks like a slumber party in there."

Chad didn't know why he felt the need to apologise. It's a decent enough table at a proper and clean kitchen, and Chad had no reason to feel bad. Sure, his home wasn't as big as the Evans mansion, but he still was well enough off.

"It's fine, Chad," Ryan said easily as he sat down and started taking out his laptop and notebooks off his messenger bag. "Unless you're just making conversation in order to distract me from the fact you didn't finish the books?"

"Dude, I totally finished those books way before midnight even!" Chad sounded offended, but he knew his eyes gave away that he was only teasing. He turned towards the cupboard. "What do you wanna drink?" he asked as he got out two glasses.

"Whatever you're having," Ryan replied. So Chad poured out two glasses of almond milk and sat down to start on the project.

Two hours later, they were nearly finished, some small disagreements on the content off the book still on the table. "Dude, it was totally an alias, anyways!" Chad said stubbornly.

"Whatever you say, _dude,_ " Ryan replied as he finished cleaning the layout and ran a spellcheck. "Either way, we're basically done."

Yeah. So." Chad leaned back as he watched Ryan close down his laptop and stuff everything away. "Do you need to go? Or can we hang out?"

Ryan looked at him oddly. "We can," he said

"What? Why are you looking so weird?"

Ryan shook his head. "Nothing. It's fine."

Chad decided it wasn't worth going further into it just as this novel just wasn't worth shit.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Chad asked happily. "Moms are out with the twins and Jaime is holed up in her room, so we basically got the house to ourselves."

"Get your mind out of the gutter Danforth, I'm not that type of gay," Ryan quipped.

" _Dude!"_

"Oh shut it, Chad, you _know_ I was joking." And Chad did know. Ryan's eyes are so expressive and were sparkling. Still, Chad loved it when Ryan teased him. He'd only ever known Ryan to tease Kelsi, and aside from his sister she'd been his best friend since junior high. It made Chad feel special.

"How about video games? I got Bio shock!"

"Ugh no. How about I school your ass on _Dance Dance revolution_?"

"Dude, I can totally kick your ass on that game!"

Ryan smirked. "Is that a challenge?"

And that is why, when Jaime came out of her room for the first time that day, she saw two guys dancing in the middle of the living room, coffee table pushed aside, all whilst keeping a never-ending banter going. Chad ignored the fact that his sister was standing there with still red and swollen eyes from the crying.

"There's no way," Ryan said. "Lifts are very difficult technically. You might have the strength, but not the theory behind it."

"Dude, I can totally do a lift! Jaime, back me up here!"

Ryan turned around and saw Jaime. "He can do lifts," she said.

Ryan shook his head in disbelieve. "Prove it," he replied. And Chad winked at Jaime, knowing she'd understand and know to do the one thing (well, one of the many things) that their moms had forbidden them to do. She ran across the room, jumped over the coffee table, and Chad caught her and lifted her in the air.

Ryan was struck with silence.

"You realise," Chad said as he put his sister back to the ground. "That this goof is a cheerleader? And the twins don't like it better than see people fly in the air."

Jaime sat down in the couch. "Well, they'd prefer it if they could do some flying themselves, but I think Mom and Lena might have our heads then."

"True," Chad replied. He paused the game and went to sit down as well, and Ryan just followed their lead.

"So, Mom called," Jaime said, explaining why she came out of hibernation. "They should be back in about an hour and they asked if we could start on dinner."

"Sure. Hey Ryan, you wanna stay for dinner?"

Ryan seemed surprised by the out of the blue invitation. "Euhm, I – I don't know."

Jaime got up, announcing that she'd start on the salad. A bit later loud music was blasting from the kitchen.

"Come on, what's up?"

Ryan bit his lip and was thinking his answer over. He didn't really wanna reply, but once Chad laid his hand on his shoulder, the safe feeling was hard to resist. "I don't wanna overstay my welcome," he said quietly. "I've been here nearly all afternoon, I should at least make an appearance at home."

"Sharpay's had you all morning, and I thought you said your parents were out on a business trip on the East coast?" Chad put on the puppy eyes.

"But it's six of you. And Jaime seems like she could use someone to listen to. And I know the twins are young and," his voice dropped a bit before rushing the next words. "I'm just not that great with kids and I don't wanna make you hate me."

"Dude, Ryan, come on!" Chad pulled him close and hugged him tightly. "I'd never hate you. Never, you hear me?" He leaned back to he could look Ryan in the eyes. "If you wanna go home, go, you shouldn't feel obligated to stay here. But there's no way in hell that I can hate you, okay."

Ryan showed a small smile, and got up. "Sure," he replied, and it sounded like he was trying to believe it. "Either way, I'll go now."

Chad showed the blond boy out and joined his sister in the kitchen. After turning down the volume of the radio by half, He grabbed some tomatoes of the counter and sat down where Jaime had laid out the extra knives and cutting board.

"Ryan's not staying over?" she asked, eyes on the cucumber.

"No, wanted to show his face at home," he replied. "Figured I should do the same."

Jaime nodded and continued peeling the vegetable. Chad noticed she'd been crying again.

"So," he asked after a few more minutes of silence, the hope that Jaime would start the conversation given up. "Do you wanna talk about what happened last night?"

"Not really." Silence. "Maybe. I don't know. It's so stupid, but." For the first time since they were in the kitchen, she looked at him. "I really liked him, and it was a great night."

"But?"

"But then, as we were walking back to his car, he –" Jaime took a deep breath, let it go in a sigh, took another one and continued. "He somehow made a racist joke at your expense and insulted Troy and Ryan and all your friends in the same breath."

Chad knew that Jaime would put herself in the crossfires if it meant protecting him or Troy. Troy was almost as much of a brother to Jaime as he was to Chad. And with him being dark mixed race, and the twins being Latino, any hint at racism would mean the guy was immediately off the table.

"So you won't be seeing him anymore," Chad concluded.

"Of course not," Jaime replied immediately. "But it sucked, you know."

Chad knew. He and their Moms all had joked at how crazy Jaime had been about this guy. He was new at the school and Jaime had been smitten since the first day, she'd been looking forwards to this date all week.

"And what sucks even more is that, during the entire meal, I couldn't help but thinking how much fun I had, how nice and attentive he was. And then he had to ruin a perfect night."

Chad spotted the tears in Jaime's eyes and had to get up. He sat down next to her and held her tight. "I'm sorry us teenage boys are such idiots," he whispered.

"Yeah you are," she agreed, but her voice showed she was smiling.

"Hey, how about we play Clue tonight and mock the twins before movie night?" Chad suggested. "That's always fun!"

"Sure," Jaime replied, a soft smile showing through her tear-filled eyes. She hugged her brother close. "Thanks, Chad."

They stayed like that for a bit before continuing to get dinner ready. When the rest of the family got home, and while Stef was putting the soccer gear away and Lena was putting the twins in bath, Chad and Jaime set the table. And the rest of the evening passed by as they had planned, a fully functional, if not a bit of a strange, family, all together.


	2. Cluelessness

**Chapter 2: Cluelessness**

Chad had no clue how he ended up here. He was sitting in the garden (" _Patio_ , Chad, for real, how can such an uneducated moron even type the street name correctly into the GPS? _Gosh…_ ") at the Evans's mansion and somehow their random get-together had turned into a small party.

Zeke was getting cookies out of the oven in the kitchen and feeding them, still hot, to Sharpay ("Double chocolate chip is my _favourite!_ ") and Kelsi had dragged a keyboard outside and had started playing music. Gabriella, Taylor, Jason and some others all had fun trying to guess the song or were making up lyrics to Nielsen original songs. Martha was dancing with Ryan and some other people of the Drama Club. Maybe there were some cheerleaders there as well, Chad wasn't certain.

Chad was laying by himself in the grass. Boi, Sharpay's dog, had installed himself next to Chad and seemed to be happy that Chad was petting him.

Chad liked observing all his friends. It was an easy spontaneous night, another Friday in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Chad was feeling really grateful. He'd spend a big part of the past week patching up Jaime from that disastrous date. The thing that had swayed her in the end, was that she'd gotten through the call-backs for the audition for the new play. Sharpay and Ryan finally had seemed to agree that _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ was actually a proper choice.

Smiling, Chad closed his eyes and let the sounds of the party flow through him, enjoying the moment.

"Hey!" Ryan's voice made him jump up, causing Boi to run away. He didn't know how much time had passed, but there were significantly less voices chattering through the garden than he remembered. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Chad sat up properly as Ryan easily sank through his knees to sit down next to him. "I'm not certain if I was asleep, really." He stretched his arms, a yawn escaping from his throat. "What time is it?"

"Almost half past one," Ryan replied. "Kelsi and Martha just left, they were the last ones. Well, I _think_ Zeke might've gone up with Sharpay to her room, but I'd rather not think about that."

"What, straight sex freaks you out that much?" Chad joked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"No, but straight sex involving my sister does." Chad laughed, he loved how quick on his feet Ryan was.

Suddenly, the words Ryan said earlier were setting in. "Wait, Troy left already?" He was his ride.

"Yeah, a bit after midnight," Ryan replied. "Something about Gabriella's Mom being stuck at the airport?"

"Meaning they have the house to themselves and maybe can itch towards third base," Chad said. He sighed, laid back down and dramatically threw an arm over his eyes. "That douche left me stranded. He was my ride." How the hell was he going to get home?

There was a pause. Then, Ryan said hesitantly: "You know… You can just crash here. If you want to."

Chad shot back upright, looking at Ryan. "You don't mind? I just don't wanna call my Moms and ask them to come get me." Thinking of that, he checked his phone. No missed calls but he did have a text from his Mom asking what time he'd be home. It was from half an hour ago. He didn't have an official curfew on Fridays and Saturdays, but anything past one in the morning means he was pushing his luck. He quickly fired of a text saying he was staying over, torn between hoping she'd already be asleep so she wouldn't be pissed for the hour, and hoping that she'd still see it so she wouldn't worry.

"It's no problem," Ryan said. He got up, offered Chad a hand, and pulled him to his feet.

"Awesome," Chad replied slowly, sleep settling back in. He followed Ryan into the house and up the stairs. "Can I borrow something to sleep in, too?"

"Sure, no problem," Ryan replied as he pushed open the door to his bedroom.

Chad had no clue what he had been expecting to find here. While he'd been here a few times, he hadn't been up to Ryan's room yet. It was spacious, with a walk-in closet and a wall dedicated to awards and trophies. There were Broadway Playbills, both signed and unsigned, framed, hanging above the bed. While everything looked like a theatre nerd lived here, it wasn't overwhelming. Then again, the room was easily thrice the size of Chad's.

Letting Chad stand there in the middle of the room, Ryan had already grabbed a T-shirt and sweatpants for Chad to sleep in. "I hope it fits," Ryan said apologetically.

Chad smiled softly. "I'm sure it's fine." He walked towards the couch as he started unzipping his sweater. He quickly stripped to his boxers and changed into the pyjama pants and T-shirt that Ryan had given him. He turned around, and saw that Ryan had walked back into his closet. The irony of it wasn't escaped on Chad but he decided against saying anything about it. He walked towards Ryan, asking: "Do you need any help with finding sheets and stuff?"

Ryan, who'd just been standing there, turned around, a faint blush on his cheeks. "What? Oh, _right_. Sheets and pillows." He turned back to one of the racks, looking at it.

Chad smiled, observing him for a second. "You have no idea where you keep your sheets, do you?"

Ryan faced him. "No?" he admitted faintly. "We have a maid. And. Well."

Chad rolled his eyes. "It's fine, dude," he said, saving Ryan out of his struggles. "I'm cool with sharing the bed if you are."

Ryan stumbled, and Chad wasn't certain if it was general clumsiness because of the late hour, or because Chad's remark had taken him of guard. Sometimes, Chad forgot that Ryan was an extremely obvious gay guy and had seen Chad as a typical jock for most of his life. Not a lot of people grew up with two moms and a best friend he'd shared the bed with from since he they were kids up till through puberty.

"Or I can just steal a pillow and sleep on the couch, it's all the same to me."

Ryan shook his head. "No, it's fine. I am gonna go. Change. You just get comfortable." And with that Ryan slipped into the hallway, off to the bathroom Chad assumed. He climbed into the bed on the side where there were the least things on the nightstand, getting comfortable as Ryan had suggested. Chad wouldn't have minded sleeping on the couch, but now that he was laying on the matrass, he really hoped that Ryan wouldn't be uncomfortable or make him move off the couch. He was too sleepy and comfortable at this point.

A few minutes later, Ryan walked back into the room. Chad was laying under the cover on his stomach, the pillow entirely hidden by Chad's bouncy curls. Ryan went to put his hat back in his closet and got into the bed on the other side, the noise making Chad look up.

"Hey," he said sleepily. "I hope I got the right side."

"You're fine,", Ryan replied. He turned off the lights and crawled deep under the covers, laying perfectly still.

Which Chad noticed. After a few minutes – or at least it felt like minutes, but it had already been established earlier that night that Chad's sense of time was way off – he poked Ryan in his side. "Dude, this is your room and your bed. Relax. If you're not comfortable, I'll just sleep on the couch, it really doesn't matter to me."

He was so tired he would fall asleep on the tile bathroom floor at this point, but he wasn't going to say that to Ryan who was already self-conscious. Besides, the bed was extremely comfortable.

Ryan relaxed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just not used to this, I guess."

Chad turned to his side. "Never had a guy in your bed before?" He blinked a few times to get his eyes adapted to the darkness so he could see Ryan's face.

Chad knew it was a lame joke, but at least Ryan was smiling. "Never had a guy in my bedroom before, period." Chad made a face. "Or," Ryan continued. "Really no one except family. And Kelsi, maybe, once, to give her a new hat. I'm not sure."

"That's sad," Chad said without thinking.

"Is it?" Ryan shrugged. "It's just what I'm used to, I guess."

"Never had a friend in your room? Even as a kid?"

Ryan closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. "It's not like I had a lot of friends growing up."

They've had this conversation before, and Chad knew, except for one year where Ryan was close to this guy Tobias when he was eight, that he never really had any friends. It was always just him and his sister, which explained why the twins were so particularly close. As high school started, he'd gotten to know Kelsi better, but even that had taken until after Troy and Gabriella had claimed their spot in the winter musical. He'd gotten so used to be alone, he'd forgotten how to be with friends.

"I'm sorry," Chad said softly. "I guess I forget sometimes."

"That's not your fault," Ryan said. "You were lucky before, I am lucky and happy now as well. It's all good." He was silent for a moment. "Tell me about it?"

Chad was getting closer to sleep and didn't know exactly what Ryan meant. "Tell you about what?"

"Growing up with friends and sleepovers and. Everything."

"Oh," Chad said. Thinking for a moment. "My favourite sleepover moment was right after we had moved, I think. Stef and Jaime moved in two yours before that in our old place, but we moved someplace bigger later," Chad explained. "So, I must've been eight. Troy was staying over for the night for the first time and we'd built a fort out of a bunch of the unpacked boxes in the living room, set around the television. We used sheets as a ceiling, and we had turned off the sound so Moms would forget we were there and could stay up later. And suddenly, Jaime, still in her pink tutu from ballet class earlier, jumped through the ceiling of our fort. She'd put a chair on top of a coffee table and had jumped over the boxes." Chad smiled at the memory. Jaime had looked like a ghost with the sheet wrapped around her. "Our Moms yelled at her, of course, and then at me for laughing so much. Troy had been laughing when it was just my Mom, but he was so confused when Stef had joined her. Afterwards, when we went to bed, he just looked at me and said: 'Dude, you have two Moms.'"

"I can imagine Troy being confused over that." Ryan's eyes were still closed, he finally looked comfortable.

"He was. But I just replied that yes, I had two Moms _and_ a sister, and couldn't he come live with us because three against one was just unfair."

Ryan laughed softly. "What did he say?"

"He said he would trade his Dad for a day with Stef. He knew my Mom was seeing a cop, and he wanted to ride in a combi with the lights on." Chad was quiet for a moment. That was the only time Troy had ever reacted to the fact that his Mom had been with another woman and not a man, and it had been a perfect reaction in Chad's mind. "After that, Troy never said anything about me having two Moms, and when he noticed that people were using gay as a curse word, he told his Dad. Coach was the one that got the full no-discrimination thing through at junior high and east high school."

"He's a good friend," Ryan said.

"He is. Preoccupied clutter-head sometimes, and completely gets some priorities wrong, but he can be a good friend."

"You're lucky." Chad did not like the way Ryan's voice was. It sounded sad.

"I am. But hey, so are you. You got me, now, after all." Chad hoped the teasing would clear the air a bit, it felt too heavy all of a sudden.

Ryan's voice sounded very far away when he said. "That I do."

And with that, Chad fell asleep, and Ryan probably followed not much after that.

* * *

On Tuesday, Ryan and Chad got their report back on the assay assignment they did together. It was good, but now they had to continue building on it for the next assignment. This time, Chad had been decently prepared, and had read the next book. Ryan – jokingly impressed – suggested they should just immediately go someplace and get it finished. So Chad dragged Ryan back to his place. He'd given his keys to Jaime so she could drive herself home and he begged and begged Ryan to let him drive his convertible. Ryan refused each time, smirking just a bit.

They got themselves installed at the kitchen table again, laptops, textbooks and literature open, along with the remarks written on their assignment. Jaime had raided the cookies so Chad had resorted to dunking mini marshmallows in his tea. _Such_ a disappointment.

"I am just saying," Chad repeated, waving around his teaspoon, "That Darbus is getting the point of the story completely wrong. We should focus on the war that was going on, not the love drama nonsense."

"It's not nonsense, and you know that it's the parallels that matter," Ryan repeated as well, staring stubbornly at his laptop screen as he typed away. "And you know Ms. Darbus lives for such drama, so if you wanna get a decent grade just go with it."

"Are you deliberately being so annoying or are you just such a sap?" Chad asked, smirking. "I know you're not that much of a kiss-ass – your sister would've been bitching a lot less then as Summer ended."

"It's both, and just shut up and tell me what to write down," Ryan said without missing a beat.

"What is it, shut up or telling you what to write? I can't do both." Ryan looked up and glared at him. "All right, all right, jeesh, just," Chad fumbled for words, and just took the book and flipped to the page they needed a citation from. "Just write, okay? _That night,"_ Chad began dictating as Ryan typed away.

They worked a bit longer before Lena came home. "Hey," she said as she entered the kitchen, walking towards Chad for a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Mom," he replied. "You remember Ryan?"

Lena smiled and nodded towards the blond boy. "Of, course, hello," she said politely. "Stef should be here with the twins soon," she added as she dropped her purse onto the table.

"Okay," Chad replied. He turned back to Ryan, who was typing away. Lena walked back to the hallway to put her stuff away, and it was only then that Chad piped up. "So you wanna stay for dinner?"

Ryan looked up, taken by surprise. "Euhm, I… I don't know?"

Chad smiled, but didn't respond. They tried to keep working, but right after Lena asked if they could clear the table so she could start on dinner and the two of them had moved all their stuff to the coffee table, Stef had come home with the twins.

Jesus had immediately ran off to Chad and started running around him. Chad sank to his knees and hugged the nine year old boy. Mariana followed and demanded a hug as well.

"Where's Jaime?" Mariana asked.

"Upstairs," Chad replied before whispering conspiringly: "She's hiding all the cookies!"

Mariana gasped and started to run upstairs. Jesus stared at her for a second before deciding that sitting on the couch was a better idea, so he did so and stared at the full coffee table. "What're you doing?" he asked.

Chad sat back in his spot, making it so that Jesus was sitting between him and Ryan. "Well," he replied. "I'm working for school together with Ryan."

Jesus turned his head, looking at Ryan. "Hi. I'm Jesus. I'm eight and I have HDHD."

Ryan looked a bit odd at him. Chad smiled, saying: "It's ADHD, Jesus."

"Right, that." Jesus looked at Ryan for a second. "Why are you wearing a hat inside?"

"Euhm," Ryan muttered unintelligently. "Because I like wearing hats?"

Jesus nodded, deeming the answer acceptable. "At school we're not allowed to wear hats outside. I only wear hats when sporting, or if it's cold, but it's not often cold here. I don't like wearing hats, but sometimes I got the sun in my eyes and then I kick the ball to the wrong person so I kinda have to wear a hat, you know?"

Chad had to hide his smile, not certain if Ryan was confused by the young boys rambling – his ADHD medication was clearly out of his system – or just by the fact that he randomly started speaking to him. "I know," Ryan said, though the look he gave Chad was telling him something else.

Chad decided to get Ryan out of his suffering. "Hey, Jesus," Chad said, gaining his brother's attention. "Maybe you can go help Moms set the table? Tell them Ryan is joining us for dinner."

"Okay!" Jesus replied happily, jumping off of the couch and running towards the kitchen before Ryan could protest.

And that is how, fourty minutes later, Ryan was sitting at the big kitchen table, next to Chad, with the young twins, Jaime, and Chad's two Moms. After listening to the twins interesting topics, Lena turned the conversation to Jaime.

"So, when are call-backs for the play?" she asked.

"No idea," Jaime replied. "Hey, Ryan, when are call-backs?"

"Next week Tuesday and Thursday," he replied automatically, only his eyes betraying the fact he was surprised that he was being addressed at the table at all.

Jaime nodded. When Stef asked if she already knew what to do, Jaime shook her head.

"You know," Ryan spoke up softly. "You really don't have to worry. You're kind of a lock for Titania."

Jaime looked up, eyes wide. "Really?"

Ryan nodded. "Don't tell anyone I said that though. Especially Sharpay."

Jaime smiled, eyes still wide. "No worries," she said. "Okay. So I need a good piece to recite. Okay. Okay." Jaime was more speaking to herself at this point than anything else.

"Just make sure it's actually from the play this time," Ryan added.

Chad grinned. "Yeah, let's not do the Vee Monologues twice in a row, or I'll have to hear Darbus whine about it in homeroom again."

Jaime ducked her head while Lena lowered her fork. "You did _not,_ " she said.

"Oops?" Jaime tried to keep the innocent look going, but Stef was full on glaring at her.

"Jaime. You've already gotten in trouble twice for, and I quote, 'exaggerative feminist rants', we can't have you go on doing the Vagina Monologues!"

"It wasn't exaggerative, that teacher is just an asshole." Jaime shot back.

Jesus hit her arm. "You said a bad word," he explained when Jaime looked at him. Mariana nodded, and Chad as well.

"That's not the point here," Stef interrupted the kids. "Jaime, just make sure not to get in trouble because I cannot deal with you getting suspended again."

"Again?" Ryan asked, his curiosity winning over the rapid exchange.

"You remember that false fire alarm going off last year?" Chad asked. Ryan nodded. "Well, Jaime may or may not have pulled it because a teacher may or may not have made a comment about the length of her skirt."

"It was during gym," Mariana added, clearly having heard this story before. "So Jaime made the smoke detector go off so the teacher would stop making fun of the cheerleaders uniform."

"Which is why," Lena said sternly. "We can't have any more suspensions. Got it?"

Jaime rolled her eyes, but nodded, and started asking Mariana questions of her ballet class.

And Ryan sat back, slowly eating his food, wondering how he got there, taking in the insane combined family of Chad.

* * *

Few days later Chad was bouncing off the walls during physics class. He needed it to be lunchtime already. After that he had free period – thank you Mrs. Josey for being sick – and that way he could practice in the gym with Troy. They had a big game that evening and he wanted to kick ass!

Class passed slowly, but as soon as the bell rang he ran off towards the cafeteria. The main topic at lunch for Chad, Troy, Zeke and Jason, was the game they had tonight – their first big game of that season – while Ryan, Gabriella and Kelsi discussed the play. While time had seemed to stand still during physics class, it seemed to fly by during lunch, and soon Chad and Troy were playing a one on one game in the gym.

"So," Troy said. "How's it going with Ryan?"

"Good," Chad replied. "He's really excited about this play, something about an additional twist to put on his resume." Chad scored a point. "Besides, Sharpay really didn't want to do this play at first and Ryan got his way, so he's really glad."

Troy nodded, stealing the ball from Chad and running backwards. "Gabi is excited, too," he said. "She'd mostly gotten used to singing, but I guess she wants to expand her horizons or something."

They played a few more minutes in silence. "You and Ryan," Troy started, carefully. "You've gotten really close."

Chad's defences began to rise. Troy was proven to be a jealous prick when it came to his girlfriend – Chad hoped his friends wouldn't expand to that as well. "Yeah." He scored a three-pointer. "So?"

"Nothing," Troy said immediately. "It's just. You know Ryan used to have a crush on you, right?"

"Again, so?" Chad tried to ignore that new piece of information and the way it send his brain immediately into overdrive. "Besides," he said, dribbling the ball between his legs. "I don't see how that makes any difference. Used to, right? We're friends."

"Gabi told me after the summer," Troy said, standing still, not even trying to grab the ball from Chad. "He might still have a crush on you, I wouldn't know."

Chad stopped playing ball and looked up at his best friend. "What are you trying to say here, Bolton?" he asked angrily. "We're friends, hypothetical crushes aren't going to change that."

Troy shrugged, grabbed the ball from Chad and performed a perfect lay-up. "I'm just saying," he said while he threw the ball back to Chad. "That you might actually have a shot at him."

And with that, Troy walked out of the gym, leaving Chad behind by himself, utterly confused, the basketball rolling away, completely forgotten.

Chad wasn't paying attention during History class. He never was, so that wasn't anything special, the teacher was boring as hell and everything was written down in the syllabus anyways, but the reason why he wasn't paying attention was more relevant.

Troy's words had been repeating themselves in his head. Ryan had a crush on him. Or at least used to, according to Troy and Gabriella. And Troy said to Chad that he might have a shot at Ryan.

Chad didn't even know for sure he liked Ryan. Sure, they'd gotten close over the Summer when Troy had ditched him, and Ryan became his rock. Between dance classes and goofing off on the baseball field, Ryan would sneak into the kitchen and just hang out with them during their breaks. And even after school started back up, Chad made it a point to keep hanging out with Ryan by themselves, even though Troy got his act together and they were back in their respective clubs and teams.

He really liked hanging out with Ryan. He was witty and competitive and someone Chad wasn't afraid to talk to. He liked Ryan. But that didn't mean he _liked him_ liked him, right.

Chad slumped into his seat. He knew his relationship with Taylor never worked because there was never a real spark. Taylor was a good enough friend, and because they dated until this Summer they had gotten comfortable talking to one another. But since they'd broken up, they never hung out with just the two of them, and Chad knew he didn't miss it. Taylor was a friend and nothing more.

On the other hand, the thought of not spending alone time with Ryan did make him uncomfortable. Sure, hanging out with the entire gang was fun, but the conversations they'd had with just the two of them had been real and fun and intimate, and Chad didn't want to miss out on that. But that didn't mean he liked Ryan more than a good friend.

Or did it?

Chad hated this feeling of doubt, the uncertainties. He suppressed a groan and tried to sit up straight and pay attention. Maybe it'll make the class go by faster. He wanted this last class of the day just be done so he could go and prep with the team for their game that night.

The class went by slowly, leaving Chad alone to his thoughts, but once it was done, Chad stormed out of the classroom, went to stuff his books in his locker, and then ran off to the locker room. They still had nearly two hours before the game started, but Chad wanted to get his head in the game and more importantly, get rid of Troy's stupid words.

Jason, Zeke and some others were already in the locker room, talking about how to win this game. Troy wasn't there yet, luckily, and Chad joined his friends. The chatter on what strategy to play took a while, and it helped him get his mind off Ryan. He focused on the game and on winning.

Once the team was complete, Coach started them on warm up drills. Not much after that, the other team arrived and some people of that high school started filling the seats in the gym. The opposing team also started warmups and not much later, the game began.

Chad started and played well. By the second half when they were in the lead, he got switched by a new kid. As he sat down on the bench, tugging on the sweater, he scanned the audience for familiar faces. Jaime was on the side line with the cheerleaders, and he knew the rest of his family were on the first row, the twins sitting between Lena and Stef. He found Gabriella and Taylor, and a few rows behind them, on the very last row, he spotted Sharpay and Ryan. They were talking excitedly, yet still keeping an eye on the game. Chad hadn't realised the Evans twins were going to come to the game, though seeing Sharpay jump up as Zeke scored a point, the illusion that Ryan had come for him was scattered. Somehow it bothered him more than it probably should.

They won the game in the last minute, and the team made plans to go celebrate at a burger place not too far away. They were discussing carpooling options as they walked out of the locker room, freshly showered, and were greeted by a bunch of girlfriends from team members and some cheerleaders. Gabriella was the first one to jump out of the crowd and greeted Troy by a hug. "Congratulations, Wildcat!" she said, giggling.

"Great game," Ryan said, a lot of people agreeing.

"You," Sharpay gushed, clinging onto Zeke. "Were amazing, saving the game. A true knight in shining armour!"

Zeke smiled proudly at that, while Chad had to hide his snicker because of Ryan's exaggerated eye-rolling.

"Hey, do you guys wanna join us?" Jason offered. "We're all gonna go get burgers at Ellis."

And like that everyone ended up in too full cars, driving off to Ellis' burgers place. They ended up dragging chairs and tables next to a large corner booth, people sitting on each other's laps (Gabriella and Troy) or sitting almost in each other's neck because of the height of the booth (Jaime and Zeke, though it also might have to do with the fact that Zeke is absurdly tall).

All the cheerleaders and the entire basketball team where present, and a bunch of their friends and significant others. Zeke was retelling how he managed to score the last point, loving how Sharpay was hanging onto his every word. Martha was bouncing on her feet, excited to be a cheerleader, practising some moves with some of Jaime's teammates.

After a lot of fries and more laughter, people started heading home, and by the end it was only the typical friend group left, more or less. Troy and Gabriella were sitting on the far end of a bench, kissing and whispering sickeningly sweet things to each other. Zeke and Sharpay were doing pretty much the same, except there was less talking but more tongue. Jason was trying to listen what Kelsi and Martha were explaining about a three fourth rhythm like a waltz compared to a four fourth rhythm with the regular eight beats songs. He was extremely focussed, which is why he probably didn't notice that Jaime and Sasha, the cheerleading captain, were throwing French fries into the hood of his sweater from their spot on top of the booth, giggling.

Chad got out of the booth as Taylor announced she was heading home, too. After a brief hug, Chad slit back into the booth, elbowing Ryan.

"Hey," he said, for the first time that night paying exclusive attention to Ryan. "I didn't know you were coming to the game. Did you enjoy it?"

"Yeah, Sharpay wanted to show Zeke that she supports him," he replied. "I don't understand why she needs to do that though, I think her tongue is currently doing enough work."

Chad followed Ryan's line of sight it looked like they were playing tonsil hockey with their tongues.

"Ugh," Chad said. He turned back to Ryan. "But did you at least enjoy it? At the very least you could've had fun criticising the cheerleader's routine."

"Hey!" Sasha threw a fry at him in protest, which got stuck in his hair. "Serves you right," she muttered as she continued throwing fries into Jason's hood.

Chad shook his head violently, failing to get the fry out. "Sit still, you goof," Ryan said as he started carefully plucking at his hair. "And it was a fun game, to answer your question. Tense, you guys really kept it to the last second to win."

Retrieving the fry from his hair, Ryan handed it to Chad, who threw it at his sister. "But we did win," Chad said. "And that's what matters, right?"

"Sure," Ryan said. "Go Wildcats!"

Chad elbowed him, thinking for a second, Troy's words from earlier that day still lingering in the back of his mind. "Say, is it true you used to have a crush on me?"

Ryan spat out his diet coke and started coughing violently.

"Hmm, should've waited until you swallowed that," Chad said apologetic. He almost regretted asking, but it had been messing with his head all day. And there was no one paying attention to them, and so far he'd been able to talk to Ryan about anything. He hoped Ryan would just be honest with him.

Once Ryan stopped coughing, he looked up to Chad. "Where the hell did you get that idea?" he asked hoarsely.

"Just rumour going around." Ryan looked at him in disbelieve. "Fine. Troy said something," Chad admitted. "But is it true?"

Ryan looked a bit nervous. "Does it matter? If it's in the past anyways?"

Chad shrugged, slightly glad that they hadn't caught the attention of anyone else. "I guess not," he replied. "I guess I just wonder why you never told me anything."

"Because it is embarrassing," Ryan whined, letting his head fall on the table.

"Why would it be embarrassing? I'm a hot piece of ass!" Chad chose to ignore Jaime's "You wish, Danforth!" in favour of Ryan's chuckle.

"It's just," Ryan said as he got up, still refusing to meet Chad's eyes. "That I didn't want to drive you away. We'd become friends, and I got over it, so I just didn't see why it would matter."

Chad mulled over that thought for a second. He knew Ryan was embarrassed, the fact that he kept his voice quiet being enough of an indicator. "Okay," Chad said in the end, seeing Ryan was getting nervous and he wanted to get him out of his misery. "I guess it didn't matter. Forget I said anything."

"Sure," Ryan said, letting out a sigh of relief. It was silent for a few moments before all of a sudden the booth moved and a thump hit the ground.

"I'm tired," Jaime declared from behind him. "Chad, can we head home, you're my ride, remember."

Chad turned to Ryan. "We cool?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Sure, don't worry about it. I guess I'll just head home as well. I stole Shar's keys earlier, just in case this would happen."

So both boys got up from the booth, their greetings going unheard by the two couples. Jason turned around to wave them out, causing the fries to spill out of his hood, leaving him confused and Sasha doubled over with laughter.

Chad hugged Ryan goodbye once they reached the car, just to make a point to the blonde boy, before getting into the driver's seat of the beat-up car.

Jaime rolled her eyes as soon as he got in. "What the fuck was that, Chad? Are you trying to ruin it?"

Confused, Chad replied "Ruin _what_ , exactly?"

Jaime looked at him. "You really have no clue?" her face going from angry to wonder. She shook her head. "Why are teenage boys so fucking clueless?"

"If I'd know the answer to that," Chad replied, turning on the engine, "I would've fixed my cluelessness ages ago, sis."

Rolling her eyes, Jaime propped up her feet onto the dashboard. "Just drive, Chad. Just drive."


	3. Realisation

Chad was twisting and turning that night, unable to get to sleep. It was ridiculous, it'd been an exhausting day, physically and emotionally draining. He should be sound asleep right now.

Yet, he couldn't get Troy's words out of his mind. He had a shot at Ryan. Jaime had mockingly said he was screwing things up. And Ryan all but said he used to have a crush on him.

Meaning, if Chad were to make a move, he'd be able to get together with Ryan.

He just didn't know if he truly wanted that, and it was starting to drive him crazy.

The fact that he'd spend half an hour that night thinking about kissing Ryan and what that would be like also didn't escape him, and it drove him mad in a whole other way.

First he thought he didn't want that at all. He liked being friends with Ryan, he didn't get why he'd risk that. But then he thought of all his friends that were in relationships now. Troy and Gabriella were nauseating at times, sure, but they also seemed so happy together. Zeke and Sharpay were a special case that never were going to last past high school, but right now, they seemed content as well.

On the other hand, if he _were_ to 'make a move' on Ryan, it could also end disastrous like Jaime's date the week before, and he so did not want that. After a week of extreme moping she was only starting to get over it, and Chad would be worse off and lose a friend on top of it.

Chad groaned, and got out of bed, frustrated with nothing to do and his mind keeping him awake. He silently walked down the stairs, skipping the one stair that creaked so no one would wake up. He walked towards the kitchen, boiling some milk in order to make himself some hot chocolate, hoping that it would calm him down.

He was halfway through his cup and all the way through the package of mini-marshmallows when his Mom walked in, flicking on the lights Chad hadn't bothered with.

"Hey," she said softly, grabbing a cup and making herself a cup of hot chocolate as well. "What's keeping you up? I thought you went out celebrate your win of tonight, you should be dead to the world right now."

Chad nodded solemnly, staring down at his cup, letting a sigh escape.

"Come on Chad, talk to me. Is there a girl?" Chad ducked his head a bit, feeling a faint blush come up to his cheeks and trying his best to fight it away. He shouldn't be blushing, he shouldn't have a reason to blush. "Ooh, there is!" his Mom sang, sitting down next to him, legs crossed on the chair. "Come on, tell me!"

Chad let out a sigh. If you have no one to turn to, you turn to your parents, right? And Chad always had been able to talk to his Mom about anything. "I guess there's someone. A boy. At least, I think so." He added it as an afterthought.

"You think he's a boy?" Lena feigned sounding confused whilst teasing her son.

Chad didn't respond to the joke. He just kept staring at the table as he took a moment before whispering: "I _think_ I might like him." Saying those words out loud were scary. It meant he was acknowledging it, which was the thing he'd been working on to _not_ do.

"… And I'm guessing it's not about the fact that Ryan is a guy?" Chad's head snapped up at the name, his eyes wide and alarmed. "Oh honey, don't be silly, of course it's Ryan."

Chad looked back down at his cup, slightly embarrassed. "I just. I am not certain how I feel about him, I mean I know I like him, but I just don't know if I like him like that you know, but then Troy and Jaime said something and I just don't wanna ruin things but then if I compare it with how things were with Taylor this is so much more important and I just. Don't know how I feel. Or how I think how I feel. Or how I want to feel or what to do."

Lena let her son ramble, and after he was done, she sipped her cup of hot chocolate before replying. "You clearly care about what should happen should you do anything about it. I think you know how you feel about him."

Chad groaned and let his head fall onto the table. "But. I just. I don't know how much I like him."

"I know, honey, I know," Lena said as she was patting Chad's back.

"I don't wanna screw things up," Chad mumbled.

"Just try and prioritise things," his Mom suggested. "Is it worth keeping things from continuing with Ryan if it means being friends? Or would it be worth trying to become something more?"

"I don't know," Chad mumbled. "I really don't know."

Lena was still rubbing his back. "I know honey. Just try to get some sleep, okay?"

Chad nodded, with his head still against the table, sat up straight, downed his cup and got up to go off to bed.

"Thanks Mom," he said as he hugged her.

The next day was Saturday, and Chad managed to get his homework done for the entire week by lunchtime. After the conversation with his Mom, he managed to get some sleep, but not much. He was running on caffeine and motivation for doing homework was found as a way to keep his mind occupied.

This, of course, meant that by three in the afternoon, Chad was sitting in the couch, not paying attention to whatever show Mariana was watching, staring at his phone. Throughout the day, Ryan had texted a few times about random things, and Chad had kept the conversation going. It had been easy, but now, without anything else to focus on, the wave of emotions and doubt hit him again hard as he kept overanalysing new texts and rereading older messages.

Chad groaned as Mariana giggled to whatever the Disney princess did on the television screen. He sunk further into the couch, going through the texts from different contacts. He so did _not_ want to deal with his mind today, and meeting up with someone to keep him distracted would be the perfect solution.

The first contact that showed up – besides Ryan, from who he had just received a new text – was Troy. Not an option, after all he'd been the one to point out all the drama in his head. Gabriella would be busy with either studying or Troy, and Jaime would be no help either. Zeke was at Sharpay's – half of today's texts from Ryan had consisted of mocking the couple – and Jason's otherwise hilarious obliviousness would not come in well into forming a distraction for Chad.

That's how Chad ended up half an hour later at the mall with Taylor.

"Are you sure you don't mind shopping for books with me?" Taylor asked. She looked at him worriedly, and Chad had to admit any other day he wouldn't have so willingly agreed, but today wasn't any other day. Today he needed a distraction.

Not that he would admit that to Taylor. "I'm fine," he repeated for the fifteenth time that afternoon. "I was bored and needed something to do. Besides," he added, grinning. "I don't mind being your strength and muscle guy." He had to admit, between baseball, basketball and other arm work-outs, he was glad he could handle the heavy academic books. The two bags he was carrying weren't exactly light-travel-material.

"If you're sure… There's one or two more stores I'd like to go to, but I really need to refuel."

Chad smiled. "Then let's go get you some coffee."

They headed towards a Starbucks and settled on a bench not much further away in the mall. Chad waited for his drink to cook down after the first sip had burned his tongue, and he was checking his phone in the meantime. He smiled brightly as he saw Ryan had texted him again. As he was typing a response, Taylor started talking about which other books she was looking for and why she hoped one of the two next stores would have them.

They continued their shopping and that evening, after Chad had dropped Taylor of at her place and he was doing dishes after the family dinner, he realised that the entire afternoon, he'd been more excited each time a text had arrived from Ryan than any other moment.

Well, shit.

The weekend went by rather fast, even though Chad still did not figuring out what to do. So, as they were driving to school on Monday, he asked Jaime about it.

"So you really think it's worth to go after Ryan?"

Jaime, who had been busy on her phone, feet propped up against the dashboard, looked at him oddly. "Oh, so _now_ you know what I was talking about?"

Chad sighed. "I just didn't realise I liked him, okay. But I guess I do. I just. Don't know how much. And if it would be worth it." He stubbornly kept his eyes on the road as he muttered the next words: "I just don't wanna lose him as a friend."

"You know Ryan's been working on some new cheerleading routines?" Chad nodded. "Well," Jaime continued. "I heard him talk with Martha. She was teasing him about you and he was blushing like crazy. I think he really likes you."

Chad nodded, eyes still on the road. "But that was weeks ago."

Jaime rolled her eyes. "You put him on the spot on Friday. He doesn't want to lose you as a friend, either, you fool. He likes you. Take a chance." She slumped further into her seat, focussing back on her phone. "Besides, it'd be nice to see a positive love story for once."

They pulled up to the parking lot of the school, but as Jaime was about to get out, Chad asked her to wait. He doubted for a moment, but decided to just screw all his insecurities and the what-ifs he's created in his mind. "Do you think he'll mind?"

"Mind what? He likes you." Jaime turned back, took one look at Chad's face, got back in the car and immediately closed the door. "Chad. He's not going to care. Why would he?"

Chad rolled his eyes. "Some people just know, and he probably was one of those."

"And I wasn't," Jaime said. "Neither was my Mom." Chad refused to meet her eyes. "Hey, Chad, look at me." Chad looked up, begrudgingly. Jaime's eyes were filled with sisterly love and worry, unlike the annoyance that had been there earlier. "He's not going to care. I promise you." Jaime waited until he nodded. "Okay then," she said, getting out of the car. "You'll wait for me until after practice tonight?"

"Sure," Chad said. He took a deep breath, and got out of the car as well, trying to focus on what the rest of the day would bring.

The day ended up going by rather fast. Chad paid attention in class – or at least in most of his classes – and just tried to ignore his mind and Troy's words of Friday that still kept creeping up to him at times.

But then classes were done, and Jaime still had cheerleading practice. Chad first went to the library and finished his homework, but he still had half an hour to kill before she'd be done. So Chad started wandering around the halls. He saw in one room Gabriella practising with Kelsi, and in another he could see Ryan working with Sharpay and some others on a choreography of some kind. He stopped for a moment, observing how Ryan explained certain movements. He always got excited about dance, more than anything else. His eyes sparkled the most when he could dance. When Ryan spotted him, he quickly waved at him before continuing the dance.

Chad smiled and waved back before he continued walking down the hallway. In the end, feeling extremely aimless, he decided to just go sit in his car, turn up some music. At least he'd get those voices out of his mind.

He put on some musical Ryan had suggested him. _In The Heights_ had some cool rap in it, and it had a nice story as well. Nothing too dramatic. He was a few songs in when Jaime knocked on the window. She got into the car and they drove off in silence.

Right before they got home, Chad spoke up. "I think you're right," he said. Remember how he'd felt throughout the day when he'd spotted Ryan made him realise that it probably would be worth pursuing his feelings.

"Of course I am," Jaime replied easily. "But, I'm glad for you," she added.

He smiled. "thanks. I don't know when though, but I _will_ talk to him."

Awesome.

" _Dude_ , please come save me on Friday!" Chad whined again. It was Thursday and Chad had figured he could spend some time with Ryan on Friday, see how things went. He'd figured out a pretty decent excuse as well. "I don't wanna be stuck alone at home this Friday, and going to the movies with Troy and Gabi is so _not_ what I want."

"So I am a lost resort? Way to make a guy feel wanted, Danforth," Ryan threw back at him.

"You are not and you know it." Chad elbowed him. "Come on, let's go to the batting cages, maybe catch a movie. I need to make you say yes on baseball try-outs next season. We _need_ you on the team."

"Sure," Ryan replied, picking up his pace. "You don't wanna be stuck at home watching musicals with your moms and sister."

"The twins already decided tonight it's _Enchanted_ and I cannot watch that movie again, but that is beside the point. The point is that I wanna spend time with you."

Ryan stopped at his locker and turned to Chad. "Okay, stop it, I'll go with you to the batting cages tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Chad bounced up. "Thanks man! See you tomorrow."

Chad ran off to his next class, internally cheering. Even if Ryan didn't know it yet, this would be a date. Or at least a trial-date, and Chad was excited to make it perfect.

The issue was that it was a bit over twenty-four hours away.

So he had over twenty-four hours to plan his outfit, how and where to pick Ryan up, where to go after the batting cages – because let's be real that really is just a cover so the ice can be broken. He should ask his Moms what are good places to go for dinner. Something fancy and payable. Maybe he could even bribe forty bucks out of his Mom, since she's totally rooting for him and she likes Ryan. Maybe.

The day soon was done, and after doing homework (in like, fifteen minutes because let's be real, he'll just copy everything else that's important off of Taylor the next day over lunch or something – besides, who even gives homework to be done by Friday, that's just rude), Chad was standing in front of his closet. All of a sudden, he hated every single clothing piece he owned, even his favourite sneakers, and the jacket Ryan had complimented.

Ugh.

An hour later, Chad was sitting on his bed, legs crossed, with several options laying around him. He definitely was going to wear the same jeans to school, the ones that aren't exactly skinny, not by a long shot by Ryan's standard, but that were less baggy than usual and didn't have any holes or stains. He was also for certain going to wear a different shirt and jacket than those he was going to wear to school. He just had to decide which.

Chad let himself fall backwards onto the bed, groaning. He laid there for a few minutes, thinking about how ridiculous he was being, when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he said as he sat up straight. His mom entered, and as she saw the scene, she smiled.

"So I guess Jaime wasn't exaggerating when she said you have got a big date with Ryan tomorrow night."

"Ugh," Chad said. "I barely properly realised I like him, less than a week ago. Can you two please stop gossiping?"

Lena just smiled and started picking up several clothing pieces of the bed, putting them in different piles. She left three shirts on the bed, the rest she put on the desk. "Make sure you fold these again. I _will_ notice when you just throw them back into laundry." And without another word, she left the room.

Picking one of the three remaining shirts for the next day, Chad put on some music – another mix CD Ryan had given him – and started cleaning his room. He was done by the time dinner was ready, and afterwards he agreed to play a game with the twins.

When he went to bed that night, he couldn't say if he was excited, nervous, or just plain scared.

"You were right, Chad," Ryan repeated for the third time that evening. "It is a lot of fun."

They were on their _date_. Though Ryan might not realise this. Either way, they were at the batting cages, returning their gear. Ryan's eyes were sparkling as he put on his hat, his hair still a bit mused by the helmet, but obviously he didn't realise this. Chad liked the view too much to tell him. "You know what, maybe I will try out for the team."

Chad's eyes bulged out of his head. Nearly. "You will? That would be amazing! You're too good a player not to, really, and we could use a pitcher like you! You're great."

"Thanks", Ryan said. "I might." They walked back to Ryan's car, which turned out to be the easiest so Jaime could just go home. "So. Where to next?" he asked.

"Just let me drive?" Chad begged. "Please!?"

Ryan's car was a little piece of heaven, the same type convertible as Sharpay had, except it was a deep dark blue and it had no tacky initials.

Ryan smiled. "Just give me the address. You can drive when we head back, that'll be a longer drive."

"Score!" Chad cheered as he jumped into his seat. He set the GPS, refusing to tell Ryan where they were headed.

The restaurant where they parked wasn't the most expensive place, but it was decent enough. A place with, after a lot of begging to Stef and Lena and checking every backpack and every jeans pocket, a place where he was able to pay a main course, dessert and drinks for both of them. It was a place where Ryan seemed happy about when he realised where they'd ended up.

They were seated inside and while they were looking over the menu, Chad kept glancing at Ryan, hoping to see if he was showing any signs of happiness.

Chad didn't dare to say that this was a date. It was silly, but, yeah. Ryan didn't give any sign of being uncomfortable however, happily ordering of the menu and smiling at Chad. Chad asked him about the play, how it was all coming along, and if Troy hadn't been stalking Gabi all over rehearsals yet.

"I can't believe he's that jealous," Ryan said after swallowing a bite of his steak. He had ordered the same thing as Chad head, a steak and fries. "Like. Did he seriously think I was interested in Gabriella? I scream queer with every breath I take!"

Chad laughed, head ducked. "Yeah, but Troy's a bit naïve at times. And he's proven to be jealous." He took a sip of his Mountain Dew and added. "Besides. He's known my family for years, and the one thing they drill into everyone's head, is to not assume and not judge. So, you know..."

"So Troy assumed I _could_ be straight?" Ryan's voice was filled with disbelieve, and only the tiniest hint of mockery.

Chad shrugged. "You could've been metrosexual for all we knew. You'd never said anything until I asked point blank after the baseball game, remember?"

And Chad knew Ryan remembered. He couldn't forget that day. After Troy had abandoned them, and Ryan had kicked ass on the field – even though the wildcats had won – they'd switched Jerseys (and hats, Ryan insisted) and had dinner all of them together. Chad had asked him point blank when the topic of significant others had come up. He still remembers Ryan's face and the way he nearly chocked on his drink as he asked ' _So, Ryan, do you have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?'_ The second phrase only added for full disclosure.

"Right," Ryan replied, stretching the word in mockery as he rolled his eyes. "Because everyone at this damn school know what that actually means, let alone that it actually exists." He took his last bite and shoved his empty plate away, leaning both arms on the table. "Seriously Chad, everyone knows."

"Now they do!" Chad said happily. He also put his fork down, trying to keep himself from fidgeting too much. "You didn't answer my question by the way. How are rehearsals coming along?"

"Fine, first week is always a bit dull, no one knows their lines properly yet."

"Oh," Chad didn't know what to reply to that. "But you're excited about the play, right?"

"Oh, definitely, I really like this one!" They were interrupted by the waitress, who asked if they wanted dessert. Chad replied yes before Ryan could change his mind. They placed their orders immediately, and the waitress was back quickly with one tea, one hot chocolate, and two different pieces of pie.

"Hey, you wanna split them in half?" Ryan nodded in response to Chad's question, carefully cutting his piece of pie in half. They traded pieces over their plates and Chad indicated for Ryan to continue as he took a large bite. "Like I said, I like this play, but you know, there's nothing like a good musical."

Chad swallowed the too dry piece of pie. Or it were his nerves, whatever. "How so? More dancing?"

"It's not just the dancing and the unannounced coordinated singing, you know," Ryan teased him, knowing the reasons for Chad's dislike in musicals. "It's how the dance, the lyrics, the music, all contribute to the story. Some things cannot be said by words alone, it needs more, and a musical allows much more mediums to portray the story. Music can tell so much more than words can, and if you tell a story through dance on such expressive music. It's just magical." Ryan toyed around with a piece of pie on his plate, blushing a bit, embarrassed.

Chad smiled. "I like your enthusiasm," he said lowly, looking into Ryan's eyes. They were sparkling again, and Chad adored how expressive Ryan's eyes were. Ryan ducked his head, blushing even more. "And you're cute when you blush," Chad added, a bit more confident, leaning back into his chair.

Ryan looked up. "Weirdo," he muttered under his breath, resulting in a soft kick against his leg from Chad. They smiled through the rest of their dessert.

"Wanna get out of here?" Ryan asked.

"And drive that sweet car of yours? Heck yes!" Chad signed for the bill and immediately paid before Ryan could even get a word in between.

"I could've paid my share, at least," Ryan complained as they were walking back to the car.

"It was my treat," Chad replied. "Next time can be on you. Now. Can I? Please?"

Ryan smiled and shook his head before digging the keys out of his back pocket and handing them to Chad. "Just be careful."

"I'm always careful," Chad basically skipped to the driver's seat.

You know," Ryan said as they took the turn to Chad's street. "I'm really glad we are friends."

"Yeah?" Chad hoped he didn't sound as nervous as he was feeling. He was so regretting having dessert. That chocolate pie was laying heavy on his stomach. That's what Chad kept telling himself, even though he knew it wasn't really the chocolate pie.

"Yes," Ryan replied. Chad slowed down for the last mile he had to drive, sneaking a glance at Ryan, who had his hat on his lap so he wouldn't lose it with the open roof. He had his eyes closed, and he looked content.

"Why?" Chad asked, scared to upset Ryan but needing to know the answer nevertheless.

"Because," he said slowly, as if it all was clear. "You are the first person who ever really cared enough to ask about me. At least the first who wasn't my sister." He shrugged, opening his eyes as Chad pulled the car to a hold and put on the safety break. "It's just nice."

"That's what friends are for," Chad replied, taking the car keys out of the engine.

He took a deep breath and got up, keys in hand. Ryan got out of the passenger seat and they met in front of the car hood.

"Hey," Chad said, grabbing Ryan's hand lightly. "I mean it. I'm here for you."

"I know," Ryan replied, looking slightly confused.

"So," Chad swallowed. Afraid of what he was going to say next. "About you having that crush on me."

Ryan looked down to his feet. "Does it really matter, Chad? I don't want things to get weird."

"Maybe," Chad replied silently as he tugged on Ryan's hand. "Maybe it doesn't have to get weird at all."

Chad took a deep breath, and closed his eyes as he leaned forwards. He softly pressed a kiss to the corner of Ryan's mouth. It was odd, without any movement of either of them, so he pulled back, letting his forehead rest against Ryan's, eyes still closed. He tightly held Ryan's hand, and that seemed to be Ryan's cue to initiate a decent kiss. His lips pressed against Chad's, firmly yet carefully. Chad opened his lips slightly and kissed back. After a few seconds, that felt like eternity but still were too short, too little, Chad pulled back, finally opening his eyes, still holding onto Ryan's hand as well as the car keys. He saw that Ryan had his eyes closed as well, taking those deep breaths that Chad had dubbed the yoga breathing.

"Hey," Chad whispered, pinching Ryan's hand again. The blond boy opened his eyes, and Chad did not know for which emotions to look first. He was happiness and fear, mostly, but he was looking so conflicted and confused and Chad couldn't help but feel quilt guilty for that. So Chad smiled, gave Ryan another quick kiss, this time on his cheek, and handed him the car keys. "Can I see you tomorrow?" he asked, and as Ryan just nodded, unable to utter words due to shock, Chad muttered sweet, gave him hand one last squeeze, before walking to the front door and letting himself in.

Chad closed the door behind him, unable to look backwards out of pure nervousness. His heart was still beating in his throat. He kicked of his shoes and slid down the door to the ground, unable to move. He really hoped he did the right thing. He didn't want to lose Ryan as a friend but if everyone was right, and he had been reading the signs correctly, he did the right thing. Ryan liked him.

It was only a minute or so later that he could hear Ryan's car kick into rear and drive off. At least he wasn't the only one that was stunned. Still seated on the ground, not much later Jaime came down the stairs. She walked up to Chad and gracefully sat down in front of him.

"So. How did it go?"

"Good. I think."

"You think?"

Chad stuck out his tongue. "The date went well."

"But," Jaime asked. "Did he know it was a date."

"I think, in the end, he did." Chad thought at least he'd been pretty clear on that.

Jaime was smiling brilliantly right now. "You kissed him." It wasn't a question.

Chad nodded. "I did," he agreed. "I asked if I could see him tomorrow. He said yes. Well," Chad corrected himself. "He nodded. But he wanted to. After I kissed him. So. There's that."

Jaime lunged forwards and hugged her brother. "I'm so happy for you Chad. You deserve some happiness, after the summer you've had."

Chad nodded. He hoped this would end in happiness, at least. He'd have to wait till tomorrow for that to be certain.

"So," Jaime said. "Moms entertained the twins and put them to bed now. Up for some grown up family time?"

That sounded exactly what Chad needed right now. So they went to the living room and played Clue with Jaime, Lena and Stef. They asked how his evening went, but didn't press on when he just replied "good".

Yet, he couldn't get Ryan out of his head the entire game (which he lost enormously) and when he went to bed that night, Ryan's expressions over that night kept spooking through his head. Grabbing his phone – which he hadn't checked since he'd gotten home – he saw he had one new text. From Ryan.

 _I'll see you tomorrow. Text me before you leave to come pick me up. Sweet dreams._

Nothing too special but at least he was seeing Ryan tomorrow. Smiling widely, he sent off a ' _sweet dreams_ ' reply, set an alarm and went to bed, the thoughts of Ryan seeping through his dreams.


	4. Epilogue

The next morning, bright and early on Saturday, Chad was sitting nervously in his car, waiting for Ryan. He'd texted him when he was about to leave, and he had just texted again to say he was standing in front of the gate. He was tapping the steering wheel with his fingers, anxiously waiting for Ryan.

When the blond showed up, it was with a fire-red fedora, matching pants, a black dress shirt, and the brightest smile Chad had seen. When Ryan softly yet happily said "Hey," once he got into the driver's seat, Chad immediately felt more at ease.

"Good morning," he said, smiling. "So. Where to?"

"I don't care," Ryan replied. "Just drive."

And so Chad did. "Any preferences on what to do today?" he asked as he shifted back into gear.

"Not really," Ryan said. "Something relaxing. Easy. I don't know."

"Hmm." Chad thought, taking a few turns while thinking over different options. "Are you wearing crazy expensive shoes or just regular expensive shoes?"

Ryan looked at him oddly. "Why? You wanna steal them and sell them on the internet?"

Chad couldn't help but laugh. "No, you idiot. Are they comfortable, are they allowed to get a bit dirty?"

"Sure, I guess," Ryan replied slowly. "Again, why?"

"You'll see." And they drove off in a comfortable silence. Ryan played around with the stereo in the car, and turned up the mix CD he had burned for Chad a while back, singing along to different tunes.

About fifteen minutes later, they'd arrived at the place Chad wanted to show Ryan. "Come on, get out," he urged Ryan as he got out of the car. "We're going for a walk."

"Okay," Ryan replied, still unsure of the situation. But he still started walking next to Chad. "Where are we, anyways?"

"You see that park over there?" Chad pointed to their left. Ryan nodded. "That park is across the road from where I used to live before we moved. I don't remember anything special about the house, really – we moved when I was eight. Most of my memories are from when Stef and Jaime moved in two years before that. But I do remember coming here to the park with my Mom to play as kindergartener. We used to walk in these woods behind the park for hours some days."

"That sounds great." Ryan's voice was soft and he was looking around curiously. "We never did stuff like that. I mean, we did stuff together as a family, even though people just expect my parents dumped us with a nanny twenty-four seven. They didn't do that. But, walking in the woods, stuff like that? We never did that."

"Then what _did_ you do with your family?" Chad asked.

"I don't know," Ryan replied. "Since Sharpay and I have been into theatre since we were little, they had a stage and karaoke system set up in our playroom. Completely soundproof. Later, they expanded it to function as a dance studio, and there was a piano as well." Ryan was smiling at the memories. "Shar and I would rehearse plays we'd make up ourselves, or just would improvise. Mom would sing and play the piano. It was great."

"That sounds great. Jaime and I didn't do that. Though the twins sometimes drag us into their make-belief."

"How old are they now anyways?" Ryan asked. "And what are their names again? You barely ever call them by their names."

Chad laughed. "Mariana and Jesus are almost nine. And I guess I just call them the twins cause they're always so close together. I mean, with the past with their mother, you can't blame them, but it took a while for them to open up and trust us."

"I guess maybe it's just a twin thing."

"Maybe. Sometimes, though," Chad said. "They remind me of you and Sharpay."

Ryan frowned. "How so?"

"I don't know," Chad shrugged, and he started walking backwards so he could get a clear look at Ryan's face. "They are always covering for each other. And usually it's Mariana coming up with the crazy ideas, but Jesus always tags along and they never confess who is to blame. They just. Stick together."

Ryan smiled. "Yeah, I guess that sounds familiar. "

Chad turned back around, and walked close to Ryan. He let his hand rub against Ryan's, and after a few times, Ryan grabbed a hold of Chads hand, which Chad started swinging in between them.

"You and Jaime," Ryan started, unsure how to continue. "You two are close as well?"

"Yeah, we are," Chad said. "I mean, not like twins or anything but when Stef and Lena moved in, suddenly I had a playmate in the house just a year younger than me. And I was just six when that happened. We grew up together. She's my sister."

"But siblings don't always get along," Ryan pointed out. "You two are also friends."

Chad shrugged. "I guess we are." Ryan just nodded and they continued walking for a bit. "It was also nice that she understood," Chad continued after a while. Seeing Ryan's confused look, he explained. "Having two Moms. I love them, but it can be frustrating. Teachers would ask you to fill out this parental sheet, what they do for work and stuff, and it would have Mom and Dad on it. And if you ask what to do when they are divorced, and you don't know your Dad, they just tell you to fill in that of your Mom and stepfather. And they never know how to respond when you say you have two Moms."

"That sucks."

"Yeah," Chad hated that in primary school. "Or, you know, they'd ask the girls if they wanted to do later what their Mom did, and of course – "

"They asked the boys if they wanted to become like their Dads." Ryan rolled his eyes, and held Chad's hand tight. "So what did you reply?"

"I said I wanted to become like my second Mom, because my Mommy had married a cop and she got to lock up bad guys." Chad snickered at the memory. His teachers had never liked that response.

Ryan, however, did, because he was laughing a full belly laugh and had his head thrown back. He kept walking, however.

Chad led them to a bench hidden behind some trees. You could clearly see the path from there but not a lot of people would see or hear them there. They sat down.

"So," Ryan said, breaking the silence. "You kissed me."

Chad swallowed nervously, refusing to let go of Ryan's hand. "I did."

More silence. "Why?"

"Why?" Chad laughed at that, despite being a scared. "Because I like you, you fool."

Ryan looked at him doubtfully, then at their intertwined hands, then back to Chad. "Are you certain of this. I just mean –" Ryan said forcefully before Chad could interrupt, letting go of the darker boy's hand. "That you heard people say I had a crush on you. And all of a sudden you like me. And. It's not that I didn't like that kiss." Ryan's voice got softer. "I really did. It's just that I don't want you to do this out of pity, or as a joke."

"I'd never do that!" Chad interfered. "Truly, Ryan, I'd never. I don't toy with people's emotions, I always try to be honest and straight forwards! I –"

"I know Chad," Ryan's calm voice is what kept Chad from rambling. "I know. But I also know that last week, you didn't know I had a crush on you. And we were friends. And now we're here. And I just don't understand what changed for you. And as far as I knew, you're not gay."

Ryan bit his bottom lip, something he only did when he was nervous. Chad sighed, took a deep breath to gather all the courage he had left, and spoke up. "I'm not gay," he said, forcing the words out. "But that doesn't mean I'm straight, either." Chad took a deep breath before continuing: "And, as for what changed, I guess I just got my head out of my ass?" He gave Ryan a wry smile, which at least got a smile out of the blond boy. "Like I said, Troy said something last Friday, and then so did Jaime. And I talked with people," Chad didn't dare to admit just how much of a Mamma's boy he was just yet, especially after having teased Ryan endlessly for just that. "And I just realised. I thought I liked you as a friend. But it's more than that. I mean, even when I was dating Taylor, I wasn't that interested in spending time with just her, getting to know her, her family. It took me two months before I learned she had an older sister, and I only learned this month she wants to become a lawyer, not a scientist like I assumed. But with you…" Chad averted his eyes. "I can't stand the thought of not spending time with you. Just you. And I want to know you. Really know you."

Chad kept staring at his shoes, stubbornly. He hadn't felt this vulnerable in a while. There were still a lot of things unsaid, but he'd gotten to this point.

Ryan took a few deep breaths, but Chad didn't dare to see what he was looking like. His eyes were so expressive, and if there was any chance Chad was going to get dumped before they even really got together, he wanted to make the moment of maybe last just a bit longer.

"Chad." Ryan said his name, only his name, and Chad loved the sound. "Chad, will you please look at me?"

Chad just moved his eyes first, but when he saw Ryan's face, emotions all open, no hiding, and he looked happy and relaxed, he turned to the boy.

"I can't spend the thought of not spending time with you either," Ryan whispered. This time it was Ryan who made the first move, except this time, it didn't take any time at all for Chad to lean into the kiss.

When they both came up for air, Chad couldn't help but let go of a relieved sigh. Ryan giggled. "Were you really that nervous?" They had their foreheads still pressed together, eyes closed.

"Kinda," Chad confessed. "I was nervous, _okay_ , there was a real chance I was going to lose a good friend."

Ryan laughed and hugged Chad close, wrapping his arms around Chad's shoulders. "How do you think I felt? You're my best friend, you know. And after telling you that, you kissed me!"

Chad started laughing as well. "Yeah, smooth as fuck, that's me," he joked. He held Ryan tight for a moment. He didn't know how many minutes passed by, but after a while, he heard footsteps approaching, and he pulled back.

"Maybe we should go," Chad suggested. Ryan nodded and they got up, walking back to the car with their hands intertwined.

"So." Chad said as they sat back in the car, starting the engine. "Where to, boyfriend?"

Ryan smiled brightly. "Boyfriend," he repeated. "I like that. I like that _a lot_." He turned back to Chad and leaned forwards, kissing him.

Chad smiled into the kiss. "I could get used to that," he whispered as they separated their lips.

"Well, good, because I like being able to kiss my boyfriend." Ryan smiled, content with himself.

"Then it's a good thing I like kisses," Chad replied cheekily. He got the car out of park and started driving. "So, where to?"

"Just drive, _boyfriend_ ," Ryan said, leaning back in the seat, closing his eyes. "Just drive."


End file.
